Reset
by PSUbrat
Summary: Book One of the Reset Series. ***COMPLETE*** After Tara's death and Willow's subsequent rampage, a broken Willow says the one phrase that changes it all...(Series based on Seasons 1-6, then moving into an AU) First in a trilogy. Please R&R. Thanks!
1. Prologue

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon all episodes up to and including the season 6 finale. Some dialogue borrowed from "Grave" written by David Fury  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** After Tara's death and Willow's subsequent rampage, a broken Willow says the one phrase that changes it all  
**Timeframe:** Immediately following the final scene from "Grave"_

  
- Prologue -  
In the Beginning...

Once Willow yelled at Xander to stop, she began beating on his chest with her small fists, the pain coursing through her as fresh as the day before. She hadn't wanted him to stop her. She just wanted to end this pain that was consuming her. The loss of Tara was just too much to bear. Finally, slumping to her knees, she felt Xander place his arm around her comfortingly.

"I love you," Xander whispered to her, holding her tightly to his chest.

As she sobbed into his chest, she felt the dark magic recede from her body, the veins in her face returning to normal as well as her hair; the ebony color being replaced by her natural fiery red.

Across the hill in the cemetery, Buffy and Dawn watched as the monsters they had been fighting against stopped moving and crumbled to the ground. The sisters looked at each other in amazement and climbed from the chasm that had held their fate, looking towards the sunrise. It was not the most stunning sunrise, as sunrises go, but it took on a whole new meaning this morning. Things were going to be better from now on. They had each other. They were stronger. Willow would be fine, eventually; they would all make sure she was. Okay, so she had tried to destroy the world, but she was in pain and wanted it over, not that that made what she had done justifiable, but who was Buffy to place judgment? Ever since her friends pulled her out of heaven, all she had wanted to do was die, and not so long ago she had tried to kill her friends and Dawn.

"Come on," Buffy said as she tugged on Dawn's arm. "We should go check on the others." Slowly they made their way towards the Magic Box, hoping beyond hope that Anya, Giles and Xander were all right. At the moment, she didn't much care about what had happened to Jonathan and Andrew but she knew that they had gotten away...at least she thought they did since there weren't any bodies around to say otherwise.

Dawn gasped, bringing Buffy out of her thoughts. The two girls stood in stunned silence as Anya and a very battered Giles emerged from the ruins of the Magic Box. Buffy quickly ran to help her Watcher.

"Is everyone okay?" Buffy demanded as she reached Giles side and placed one of his arms around her shoulders, bracing the rest of his weight against her right hip.

"For the most part," Anya answered in a somewhat shaken voice. "I mean, we're not dead or anything so I guess that always a plus."

Dawn looked around the debris and then turned to the others. "Where's Xander? Is-Is he still in there?"

"No," Giles replied. "Xander is the one who stopped all of this."

"Xander?" Buffy asked in surprise.

"I said the same thing," Anya chimed in. "And in the same tone."

Giles smiled softly and looked down at his Slayer. "Yes, Xander saved the world. It is as much of a surprise to me as it is to everyone else." He paused a moment and then continued, trying to straighten up. "I suppose we should make our way over to check on the two of them. I expect that Xander will need our assistance with Willow."

Within a few minutes, the small group of bruised Scoobies reached the summit of the hill. Buffy glanced up towards where Xander had been holding a limp Willow as she sobbed. They were getting up now. Xander was holding Willow close to him as they walked down the slope towards their friends. Buffy turned back to Dawn and gave her a hug while stroking the young girl's hair. Things were definitely going to be better now.

Anya quickly made her way up the hill and reached out to assist Xander with his broken friend; he gave her a slight smile and an appreciative look. Her hopes soared when he didn't pull away from her touch. Maybe, just maybe things would now be better between the two of them.

The three of them made their way towards where Buffy and Dawn were standing, still watching the sunrise. Meanwhile, behind them, Giles just surveyed the damage. "Bloody hell," he thought taking off his glasses to clean them. How were they ever going to make this right?

Suddenly Willow began sobbing again. Her pain was like a sharp knife through all of them. It took most of Xander's remaining strength to keep him and her from falling to the ground again. Buffy moved to help them, when suddenly Willow cried out, "I wish Tara had never died!!!!"

Before anyone could contemplate the consequences of her words, Anya morphed into her demon self and simply stated, "Done!"


	2. Reset

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon all episodes up to and including the season 6 finale.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** After wishing that Tara was still alive, a bewildered Willow finds that all is not as it seemed  
__**Timeframe:** Immediately following "In the Beginning..."_

  
- 1 -  
Reset

Willow blinked and looked around. Suddenly she was very confused and disoriented. This certainly didn't look like the place where she was just sobbing about losing the love of her life. Where was everybody?? Out of the corner of her eye she caught motion. It was Tara!! But how?!?

"Better not get used to them," Tara said with a knowing grin.

Willow wasn't sure what to say simply because she had no idea what Tara was talking about. Something was so wrong. Was she dreaming? She had a sense of déjà vu but couldn't quite put her finger on it. She stood gaping, feeling unable to move even if she wanted to.

Her surroundings started to make a little sense. She was in her bedroom at Buffy's house, it was midday, and the sun was shining brightly. How could this be? She was supposed to be at what was left of the Magic Box, being comforted by her friends, yet she was here. From the look of things, she and Tara had definitely enjoyed each other's company not too long ago. That thought brought a smile to her face. She looked down at her clothing, jeans and a white button blouse. Definitely not the black ensemble that she'd just had on while trying to destroy the

"Sweetie?" Tara was next to her now staring at her. "God," Willow thought as she slowly came out of her thoughts, "She's so beautiful."

"Sweetie? Willow? Are you okay?" Tara was gently shaking her now.

"I'm, uhmI'm fine. Now. That you're here." She said giving Tara a sheepish smile. "I'm dreaming," she thought to herself. "Definitely dreaming." Tara pulled her into a tight embrace and Willow thought she would melt right there, whether it was a dream or not.

"Xander?" Tara asked hopefully, looking out the window into the backyard below.

"Xander??? I'm not Xander" Willow said, not being able to hide her confusion.

"No, he's here." Tara said. 

"Why would Xander be here?" Willow asked, still thinking this was some type of dream. She didn't think she'd be including Xander in any "Tara's alive I'm so happy" type dream. She wanted to concentrate on one thing but Tara was talking again.

"You know," Tara shrugged, "probably to make up with Buffy." 

"Make up with Buffy? I don't understand. Did they fight?" Why should she even care? This is her dream!

Tara tilted her head slightly to the side and looked at her lover trying to figure out if she was as okay as she had said. Other than being slightly flushed, Willow looked fine. "Yeah. You know. The whole not telling about sleeping with Spike thing..." She paused smiling to herself. "I hope they make up. Making up is the best"

The rest of Tara's sentence was lost as Willow realized where she was and what was about to happen. It wasn't déjà vu at all. She was back to the minutes prior to Tara's death. How did this happen? What was she going to do? Willow froze with panic as her thoughts consumed her mind.

Before she knew what she was doing she lunged at Tara, screaming, "Get away from the window!!!" 

"Willow what is wrong with you?!?!" A visibly shaken Tara demanded.

"Just stay away from the window! Don't go near the window! I have to get downstairs and warn Buffy!" Willow shouted as she got up and bounded down the steps.

"Stay away from the window? Warn Buffy? What are you talking about??" Tara pulled herself into a sitting position, away from the window. She was thoroughly confused and wondered if they had spent too much time making up and not enough time eating or something. She shook her head and grinned. Concerned, she got up and started to follow Willow down the steps - being careful, of course, to avoid the window.

* * *

Buffy and Xander had just sat down on the bench to talk when Willow came bursting through the backdoor. She was visibly upset and highly agitated. Buffy and Xander shared a quick, but worried glance.

"Will? What's wrong?" Xander asked as he started to get up off the bench and go towards his oldest and dearest friend.

"Buffy! Xander! Get out of here! Warren's coming! He has a gun! He's going to shoot you Buffy and I don't know if I can save you again!!" She said breathlessly.

Xander and Buffy stared at her and then looked at each other. Both were thinking that Willow had hit her head one too many times on the headboard while making up with Tara, but from the look on Willow's face, both knew that something much worse had happened.

"What do you mean save me again?" Buffy asked incredulously. 

Willow didn't answer and instead started herding them towards the back door. Tara appeared in the doorway looking troubled. Willow screamed, "Tara! Get back inside! It's not safe!" Tara wasn't sure what was happening, but knew it was serious because of the way Willow was looking at her.

"Willyou're really starting to scare me now," Xander stated as he tripped up the steps.

Willow was beside herself with panic as she kept pushing them towards the door. "Please, you don't understand what's about to happen. We need to get out of here!"

As the three of them were trying to understand Willow's fears, a voice came from behind them, "You think you could do that to me? You think I'd let you get away with that?" 

They all turned to see Warren standing there pointing a gun at them and laughing as though he'd lost his mind. 

"Think again!" he shouted and aimed the gun at Buffy. 

Without even thinking, Willow and Tara grabbed each other's hand and intertwined their fingers together. Tara said something that Buffy couldn't quite catch. Then, in an instant, the gun in Warren's hand turned into a dove and flew away. 

The shock on Warren's face was quickly replaced with anger. He turned and started to run back towards the alley knowing that he was helpless against them right now. "Don't think this is the last you'll see of me Slayer!" He shouted. "This is far from over!"

Buffy turned and began to follow him; suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks. "Willow," she asked turning to look at her friend, "Just how is it you knew he was coming??"

Willow, not quite understanding how she knew, stammered, "Idon't know."

* * *

A little while later, the four of them sat around Buffy's dining room table. At first no one was speaking and then they were all speaking, at once, and not in an understandable fashion. Finally, Willow stood up, not being able to take the loud buzzing around her, and went to the window. Everyone stopped and looked towards her hoping for an explanation. The silence was deafening. Willow glanced at Tara, lingering just long enough on her lover's face to take in every contour, every detail. Everything was as it should be. Nothing was out of place. "She's alive. She's so alive!" Willow thought to herself with a smile.

"Uh. Hey. Will?" It was Xander. "Earth to Willow."

"Huh?" Willow asked giving Xander a blank look.

"What's with the smileage? Wanna kinda let us in on the joke thing?"

Without even thinking, Willow took a deep breath and said quickly, with a sense of relief, "I'm just so glad you're not hurt Buffy. And Tara! Oh my god. I'm just so happy you're not dead!"

Buffy just looked at her friend questioningly. She was sure that Willow had hit her head somehow. She'd have to ask Tara about it when she had a chance to be alone with the other witch.

"Willow, I'm definitely not dead. Am I supposed to be?" Tara asked as that look of concern crept back into her face.

"Well yeah. Warren shot you in the back and he shot Buffy and you died and I had your blood all over my shirt (she looked down at her shirt and absently tugged on it with her hands) and Buffy was really hurt

"Yeah we've got that so far, Will" Xander broke in.

"Then I went to the Magic Box and got all of the black magic books, but that was after I froze Anya and became really evil but I saved Buffy's life before I tried to destroy the world and Sunnydale was this big mess and Giles came back and"

"Giles? Haven't heard his name in like, forever" said Xander breaking in again.

"I think I better sit down." Her knees started to give out but Buffy was there in a flash helping her to a chair.

"And let me guess, I was the Tin Man and Buffy was the Lion and Tara was the Scarecrow. Who was Toto?" asked Xander with a wink.

Tara was now kneeling in front of Willow holding her hand while Buffy had her arm around Willow's shoulders. Dawn would be home from Janice's house soon and Buffy wanted to have this thing settled before that. She just didn't want Dawn to have to see Willow coming unglued like this. She then gave Xander a scowl, which told him he should shut up or at least not be making light of the situation when their friend was obviously not well.

So many thoughts were swirling through Willow's head. She wasn't sure how she had gotten here and she certainly couldn't explain why Tara was alive and well. Not that she was upset with this outcome. Not in the least. She just didn't understand it. She tried desperately to think back to what could have happened. Did she do a spell? Noshe couldn't have. Giles and Anya had drained her of all of her powers. There was something tugging at the back of her brain, as if she knew the answer to this entire question but just couldn't reach it. One by one, she looked at her friends. Each had a look of desperate concern for her well-being on their faces. She especially hated the pained look in Tara's eyes. She wanted that face to be smiling forever.

Shaking her head, she slowly stood up. She needed to say something, anything to allay their fears. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to worry you. I guess maybe I'm just dehydrated or hungry or something. Oh! Maybe I had a bad dream and like, I couldn't tell the difference between being awake and being asleep because I'm so hungry!"

Buffy looked at her friend thoughtfully and slowly said, "Maybe you're right Will, but that doesn't explain how you knew about Warren coming here with a gun to threaten me."

Willow knew she had to think fast. She really didn't want them worrying about her. She just wanted to be in Tara's arms. Sweet, loving Tara. Willow needed to think of a good explanation until she could work this out on her own. Besides, she was beginning to think that maybe she had dreamed all of that stuff about trying to destroy the world. "You're right," she said to Buffy, "I think maybe I had a vision about that."

Tara put her arm around Willow's waist and asked, "Sweetie, was that when you went all spacey on me upstairs while we were getting dressed?"

Willow, seeing the out, took it and ran, "Yes! That's it! It must have been a vision type thing!" She wasn't exactly lying, right? When she figured this all out for herself, she would let the others know. Until then, there was really no reason to continue worrying them.

Buffy thought Willow's explanation was a bit forced seeing as how her friend had never had visions before this, but for now she would take her word. There were bigger things to worry about, namely Warren. He had proven dangerous, even without any special powers. He had to be stopped. God only knew what else he might have up his sleeve. She longed for a good old monster of the week or even a big bad. Where was a vampire when you really needed one? Those she could handle, she was born to handle them; but humanshumans were another thing entirely.

Nodding his head and rubbing his hands together, Xander looked at the girls and grinned, "Great. Problem solved. Now. What are we going to do about Warren?" 

"Good question." Buffy said mostly to herself as she looked out the window, slipping deep into thought. The others continued their conversation around her.

"and when can we eat?"

"Xander do you only think about food?" Willow asked while in Tara's embrace.

"No I think about other things too but usually they involve big breasted women and"   



	3. Big Bad Redeux

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon all episodes up to and including the season 6 finale.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Warren's anger towards Buffy furthers his desire for revenge  
**Timeframe:** A few days after the end of "Reset". _

  
- 2 -  
Big Bad Redeux

A few nights later, across town, Warren sat at the bar nursing his drink - and his wounded ego. He took in his surroundings for the eighth time that night. Not exactly a place where someone of his newly financial means should be, but he was hiding - no "laying low," he reminded himself. Not just from the Slayer but from the law as well. At least here no one cared who you were, or if you were a wanted felon. His thoughts returned to what had happened earlier in the week. Those witches had given the Slayer the upper hand. Damn them. She'd be dead right now if it weren't for them and he'd be ruling Sunnydale unopposed. He took another drink. He had to keep things in perspective. Buffy was the reason for all of his problems right now. As were those bumbling idiots he'd once called friends. Okay, so only one of them was really his friend, the other was too weak to be part of the team, but they had needed him to make the master plan work; and it would have, if that damned bitch hadn't destroyed his orbs. It didn't matter now; Andrew and Jonathan were in jail. Besides, he had a plan to fix everything and to put Buffy in her place.

"Buy a girl a drink?" A voice next to him asked. 

Warren grinned at the vampire and motioned to the bartender to get her whatever she wanted.

* * *

Back at the Summers' house, Buffy was upstairs getting dressed to go patrolling. She heard all of her friends laughing downstairs, all except for Xander. After they had finished dinner, he had gone to the Magic Box to talk to Anya. Buffy had tried to convince him that Anya loved him despite what she had done with Spike. Ever since that night, though, Buffy's house had become the nightly Scooby hang out. She didn't mind and she knew Dawn was happy having everyone around again. She and Xander had finally talked through their issues and were back on good terms. She was happy about that.

It was so good to hear the laughter. This year had been far too gloomy for her liking. Then again, her friends had ripped her out of heaven. Or was it really heaven? She couldn't decide anymore, because of the whole "was I in a mental institution or not" thing. Dawn's laughter rose above the others. That was especially good to hear, for someone so young, she had been through so much lately "Thank god Willow had that vision," she thought to herself as she pulled on her boot. Suddenly she wondered what would have happened if Willow hadn't had the vision. She sat down on the bed hard and tried to take it all in.

"I wouldn't be here right now," she said aloud to no one but the room.

"Dawn" She closed her eyes and shook her head. There was no time to think about things like this. Besides, Tara and Willow had stopped Warren from doing any harm to her or to them.

She looked down and realized she had put her boots on before her pants. "Great," she thought, "a slayer who forgets to put on her pants. This can't be a good thing." She needed to concentrate. There was a lot to do. She had to continue her nightly patrols as well as try to figure out what Warren's next move would be. Then there was that issue with Spike. 

"Okay," she said aloud, "so not going there."

"Not going where?" Dawn asked from the doorway.

Buffy looked up from zipping her pants to see Dawn with a questioning look on her face. "To the Magic Box," she said quickly hoping her face didn't betray what she really was thinking about.

"Oh. Why would you need to go there?" Dawn asked. "Didn't you already forgive Anya for sleeping with Spike?"

"Forgive? Uhm. That would be a big no. Understand why she did it? Yes." Buffy looked over at her sister who didn't seem to understand the difference.

"Well," Dawn started, "You shouldn't be mad at her you know. She didn't know you were sleeping with Spike. If she had known, I don't think she would have done it."

Okay, when did her little sister become such the grown up? "Dawn. I'm not going to discuss this anymore. I need to go on patrol."

"Fine. Maybe you should stop by Spike's"

"I am _not_ going to stop by Spike's!!" Buffy retorted, amazed that Dawn would even suggest such a thing. Then again, Dawn didn't know what had happened in the bathroom almost a week ago and she certainly wasn't going to let her in on it. The bruises were gone but the images were still fresh.

"I was going to say," Dawn continued as she held up the leather duster, "that maybe you should stop by Spike's place to drop off his coat."

Buffy looked at her sister trying to figure her out. She walked over to Dawn and took the coat from her. "Look," she said as she put the coat on the bed, "I know you like Spike but he's done some things lately that areinexcusable." Dawn started to say something but Buffy cut her off. "You don't know everything and we're not going to get into it right now because I have to patrol." Buffy hoped that she had said her last sentence sternly enough that Dawn would understand that the conversation was over.

"Fine." The young girl said with a hint of frustration in her voice. Then her face lit up and she started to get giddy.

"What?" Buffy asked, eyeing her sister suspiciously.

"Let me patrol with you!" Dawn pleaded as she bounced on one foot and then the other.

"That would be another big NO." Buffy said flatly. "I want you to stay here with Willow and Tara. It's not safe. Warren could be out there and I don't want you in danger."

"God Buffy! Fine!" Dawn yelled as she ran from the room. Buffy picked up her bag of weapons and heard Dawn's bedroom door slam. She sighed. "I really miss you mom."

* * *

"Now look," Warren said to the female vampire, "I bought you your drinks and I paid you good money. You will do what I say!" The vampire was pinned against the wall of the alley, a stake pressed to her heart. Warren needed her, and she knew he did, which was making this deal almost impossible to close.

"It wasn't enough money," she spat back at him, "I want more!"

"You want more? Fine. Here's more." He shoved another $100 bill down her shirt. "Now. You will find what I want or I will stake you. Do you understand me?" She nodded and started moving towards the end of the alley. He was right next to her holding onto her arm. She knew that she had to do this for him. She didn't want to die and besides, it was such a simple thing. The money was easy and she knew she shouldn't press her luck.

"There." She said as she pointed to the area where the trash bin was located.

He looked over, but nothing caught his eye. "You better not be lying to me."

"I'mI'm not." She stuttered.

He pushed her towards the trash bin and felt the air. As soon as he touched it he could feel his body hum. This was definitely it. He turned to the woman and smiled. "Thanks for the help baby." Just like that, he took the money he had given her and plunged the stake through her heart. She exploded into dust with a look of shocked betrayal and anger. 

Smiling to himself, he reached out again, making sure it was still there. He took a deep breath and passed through the shimmering air, disappearing into the night.

* * *

Xander made his way to the Magic Box. He had his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans and was absently kicking a crushed beer can while he walked. Why had he let Buffy talk some sense into him? Maybe it was because she had threatened him with bodily harm if he didn't go? He wasn't sure, but his feet kept moving him in the direction of the shop. Buffy had been right about one thing though. It did take two people to mess up a relationship. He'd be the first to admit that he never should have left Anya at the altar. If he had just talked to her abouthe shook his head. "Well, can't take it back now can ya loser boy?" He gave the beer can one last kick. It slid down the sidewalk in front of him with a tinny swooshy sound.

He stopped and leaned up against the wall of one of the abandoned buildings he was passing. Funny, there seemed to be a lot of those in Sunnyhell. He didn't care. He put his back against the wall. A look of defeat crossed his face. His shoulders dropped and he hung his head. "You certainly know how to mess things up, don't ya?"

The night air was cool but not as cool as it could have been. Summer must be coming, he thought. He was trying to think about anything else - anything - besides the situation at hand. Again, the thought crept back into his mind that things would be different now if he had just talked to her about his fears. Would she have listened to him? "Well," he reflected, "she certainly would have listened better before I left her standing there without an explanation, in front of all of our friends and family." Damn ithow had he let this get so out of hand? 

It wasn't that he didn't love her, because he did - with all of his heart and soul. He supposed that he had just expected her to take him back after he apologized to her. After all, saying sorry makes everything right, right? It did between his miserable parents, or so it seemed.

He lifted his head and rested it against the wall. He should just go talk to her and get it over with. They could work this out. Buffy had made him understand that Anya had slept with Spike out of hurt. As far as Anya understood, Xander had left her because of her and not because of what fears he had. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. Of all the people she had to choose to get back at him with, it had to be with captain peroxide. "It didn't mean anything. I know it didn't. But it still hurts."

The faint sound of shuffling and voices brought him out of his reverie. "What the?"

He slowly made his way down the rest of the wall to the alley. 

"Thanks for the help baby." A familiar voice said.

Xander jumped into the alley, ready to fight but found nothing there. He looked around and shook his head. "Okay," he said to himself, "it's now official. I have lost my mind." With that he walked back out of the alley and crossed the street to the Magic Box.

* * *

Warren looked around the dingy waiting room. It smelled. No problem. He wasn't there for the cleanliness of the place. He was there for a specific reason. A girl in the corner looked at him through half closed eyes. "I'm first," she said. "You'll have to wait your turn."

"Whatever." Warren mumbled as he looked at the clock. He didn't care who was first as long as he got what he needed. What he wanted.

After what seemed like hours, the door to the other room swung open and a man with thick, shoulder length hair and wearing a robe came out. He eyed Warren with a smile. "So. Warren. I knew you'd come eventually. I'll be right with you once I've finished up with Amy."

Warren turned to look at the girl again. Amy! He hadn't recognized her at first. She was thinner and her hair was, what? Darker? Longer? She was Willow's friend, or at least she had been, and a witch. A pretty powerful one from what he had heard. A grin crept across his face. This was turning out much better than he had hoped.  


  



	4. Truths

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon all episodes up to and including the season 6 finale.  
**Website:** http://users.erols.com/ltsmeltz/fanfic  
**Discussion Group:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Anya's secret is revealed to Xander while Buffy divulges her's to a shocked Dawn and Clem  
**Timeframe:** The minutes immediately following the end of "Big Bad Redeux". _

- 3-   
Truths

Anya first noticed Xander about an hour ago, leaning against the wall across the street and then pacing outside of the Magic Box talking to himself. She wanted to go out to him and hold him in her arms and to forgive him for being such a stupid idiot. But she knew that he'd never let her do that. Maybe he would have, if they were still comforting a distraught Willow. But she had granted Willow's wish and now she was stuck back here in this time and place. "Well," she thought to herself, "I'm not really stuck and besides, at least they don't remember that I'm back to my old demon ways." That was a plus, right? 

She sighed. Why couldn't Willow have wished them back to before Xander had left her at the altar? It would have made things so much easier. "Leave it to Willow to only think about _her_ pain," Anya grumbled to herself. If Willow had thought about anyone else but herself, maybe Anya wouldn't be a demon again. Not that she was really upset about that, because she was good at wreaking vengeance on the male population of the world. At least, she used to be. Although, despite her best efforts, she had only granted one wish since she had returned to being Anyanka. And that wish had been Willow's.

She hadn't seen Willow since the wish granting but she was sure things were going well. Tara was still alive and the Magic Box was still in one piece. A very good thing indeed. Where else would she earn her money? She stopped doing inventory for a moment when she realized that she didn't need the money anymore. She was a demon now. She had done without money for centuries.

Looking around the shop wistfully, the notion suddenly occurred to her that she had become too attached to her human surroundings, and her human friends. "Who am I kidding?" she said aloud. They weren't really her friends, were they? No. They were all _his_ friends. So why should she care anymore? It wasn't like they were coming to visit her or anything. In fact, they were avoiding her. Well, at least Buffy had been. Not that she blamed her. The sex with Spike had been a one-time thing. How was she supposed to know that Buffy and Spike were together, or whatever the relationship they had had been referred to as. She wondered if it would have made any difference if she had known. She was drunk that night and in a lot of pain. She had reached out and Spike had eased that pain, even if for a moment. What she didn't understand was why it didn't make her feel better that her actions had brought misery to Xander.

All these thoughts were depressing her.

"Anyanka, really," An unexpected voice said from behind her. "You should just give this place up and come back where you belong." 

Anya screamed as she whirled around, bumping into the display she had set up earlier that evening. Both she and the display went crashing to the floor.

"Halfrek!" Anya said, feeling like her stomach was in her mouth, "Can't you knock or ring a bell or something before you just pop into someone's place of work?"

"Sweetie, I just couldn't turn my back on your pain. Do you have any idea how loud it's coming across? I thought it was bad before, but since you've granted that mortal's wish it's been downright unbearable." Halfrek brought her face closer to Anya's and lowered her voice, "And D'Hoffryn isn't happy with you either."

Before Anya could reply and before Halfrek could help her up, the front door crashed open and Xander came flying through. Both demons just stared at him.

* * *

  
"I should have stopped him from the beginning," Buffy said as she kicked the vampire in the chest knocking him to the ground. "But nooooooo. I had to keep him around like a cute little puppy dog." 

"Sure. I knew how he felt. How he adored me and _loved_ me. Love. What a crazy word. Can demons really love?" She asked the vampire whom she now held up by the neck. The vampire just gave her an exasperated look. "Never mind. Don't answer that. I don't want to know." With that, she plunged the stake into his chest and he turned into dust.

She looked around the graveyard hoping to find some more demons to take her frustration and hurt out on. She sighed. There was nothing. "Awww," she said pouting, "I was just getting warmed up too."

Buffy pulled her coat tighter around herself and continued walking. The truth was, her heart just wasn't into patrolling this evening. Her heart wasn't into much of anything these days, what with being dead and having to take care of Dawn, not to mention her oh-so-wonderful job. The last thought sent a shiver through her. Spike was right, that place was going to kill her eventually.

"Okay. Could I possibly go one minute without thinking about him??" She had stopped walking and noticed that she was now standing in front of a very familiar crypt. Anger engulfed her. He had no right to try to force himself on her! None! She had cried out the word 'no' repeatedly, but then, hadn't she said no to him plenty of times before, only to give in? "Still doesn't justify your actions."

There was no one around to hear her musings. The images of what happened in the bathroom came flooding back to her. She leaned against the outside wall of the crypt and hung her head, crying softly. "Damn you, Spike."

Would he have continued if she hadn't kicked him off? She wasn't sure if he would have. She had changed the rules on him without telling him. However, she had never once wavered on her conviction of breaking up with him. He should have known that she meant what she said, but he didn't, and for that, she was partly to blame. She also knew that she wasn't as helpless as she seemed that night. She was the Slayer after all. She could have stopped him at any point before it had gotten worse, but hadn't. Why was that? 

That was what bothered her the most.

* * *

Back at the Magic Box, Xander stood glaring at Halfrek. "I'm sorry about the door, An, but I heard screaming"

"It's okay Xander," Anya said quickly, "Halfrek just stopped by while I wasn't paying attention and it startled me."

Xander continued glaring at Halfrek and stated with a flat voice, "Yeah. I can see why that would happen."

Anya pulled herself off the floor and swiftly moved to stand between the two. Halfrek had already taken a few steps toward Xander and Anya just couldn't deal with the two of them getting into a shouting match, or worse. She was mad at Xander, sure, but she didn't want Halfrek doing anything to him without her consent.

"Anyanka. Please. Just one little spell. It's not like I'd hurt him or anything. Much." Halfrek sweetly stated while locking her eyes with Xander's.

Never letting his gaze leave Halfrek, Xander stood his ground and said with an even voice, "Bring it on freak."

"Freak?!? Why I should" Halfrek said taking another step toward the male mortal.

Anya turned to both of them and yelled, "Xander! Hali! That's enough!" Then she started crying.

Halfrek and Xander's standoff ended immediately at the sight of Anya's tears.

"Sweetie," Halfrek was now moving to Anya's side, "Everything will be okay."

Anya looked up at Xander through her tears. His face was full of concern. She pulled herself together and asked, "Xander. Was there something you wanted to talk about?"

She had caught him off guard. "Uh. Huh?" Xander stood there blinking at her.

"Was there a reason you've been pacing outside of the shop for over a half hour now?"

"I. I-uh. I thought maybe we could talk," he said everything coming out in a rush.

Anya turned to Halfrek, "Hali, could you give us a minute please?"

"I will not," Halfrek said looking at Xander with contempt. "Anyanka, I can no longer stand here and let this go on. You don't belong here. He is not worth the human feelings you continue to have for him!"

"See," Xander stated, "us crazy humans have this thing about feelings. We like having them. Even if they hurt."

"She's _not_ human," Halfrek blurted out venomously, "so she doesn't need them! And she doesn't need _you_!"

Anya's breath caught in her throat. "Hali. It wasn't your place to tell him," she said in a whisper.

Xander stared at Anya for what seemed like an eternity. "Is this true? Are you a demon again?" His voice was pleading, questioning.

She moved towards him as she said, "It's true. But we can"

He cut her off from her explanation. He moved away from her as she approached. A look of shock crossed his face. "How could you? And then not tell me?" His voice was dripping with disgust. "I thought we could work this out."

"Xander we still can!"

"No. No. This changes _everything_." 

"But Xander"

It was too late. He was already out the door and well out of hearing range.

She crumbled to the floor and sobbed. Halfrek put her arms around Anya and spoke softly, telling her that it was okay and that it was good everything was out in the open now.

* * *

"Slayer?"

Buffy's head whipped around and looked at the source of the question. It was Clem. He was standing in front of Spike's crypt with a couple of grocery bags in his arm.

She turned her head and wiped her eyes, hoping that he hadn't seen the glaze on them. "Clem. H-How are you?"

"I'm just peachy, thanks for asking. Do you want to come inside? I need to put away these groceries and tidy up the place." Seeing the hesitant look on her face, he added with a smile, "I can make some lemonade."

She looked at her watch and saw that she had been standing there for at least fifteen minutes. Not good. "Thanks for the offer Clem but I really need to get moving"

He pulled a container of Country Time Lemonade out of one of the bags and waved it at her. "But it's yummy Country Time."

Smiling she said, "Maybe another time. It's really not a good idea"

"He's not here," Clem said with a sigh. "So come on in and have some lemonade."

Shocked, she slowly followed Clem inside. She noticed that the place was fairly trashed. As if Clem was reading her mind, he spoke. "He uh. He was a little upset after coming back from your place the other night." He shrugged his shoulders apologetically. 

While Clem busied himself with putting away the groceries, Buffy righted the over turned chair and sat down. She felt numb. "So. Are you moving in?"

"Oh no. Nothing like that. I'm just house sitting really."

"Where did he go?" Not really sure why she was asking.

"I'm not really sure. Something about needing to get out of Sunnydale." Clem started mixing the lemonade.

Her voice broke a little when she asked her next question. "Is he coming back?"

"Good question, Buffy. Is he coming back?"

Both Clem and Buffy turned around to see Dawn standing in the doorway glaring.

* * *

After several hours, or days, Spike wasn't sure anymore, he lifted the latest creature above his head, received its powers and threw it against the cave wall with a thunderous yell.

"Right. Now. I've beaten your tests. You said this was the last one. You bloody well better give me what I came here for."

The demon stood looking at Spike. "You have endured the required trials and have done well, vampire."

"Bloody right, I have!"

"But I cannot give you that which you already have."

Enraged, Spike's hand shot out and took the demon by the throat. "You said if I beat your tests I could have whatever I bloody well wanted" Suddenly he realized what the thing had said. He dropped it as if there was a fire in his hand.

Again, the demon stated, "I cannot give you that which you already have."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it you stupid git. So where does that leave me?"

"You have passed the tests. You may have whatever you wish."

"Anything?" Spike asked looking intently at the creature.

"Anything."

"Fine then. You know what I want. Make me what I was so Buffy can get what she deserves."

The demon walked over to Spike and put its hand on the vampire's chest. Everything began to glow. "Bloody hell!" Spike shouted and then passed out.  



	5. Questions

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon all episodes up to and including the season 6 finale.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Buffy faces hard questions about that night in the bathroom with Spike; Xander reveals Anya's secret and Willow deals with the fallout  
**Timeframe:** Minutes after the ending of "Truths". _

- 4 -  
Questions

Dawn and Buffy continued their yelling while Clem stood at the back of the crypt watching. This was not what he had signed up for when he had agreed to housesit for the absent vampire.

"You are so going to get it when we get home," Buffy shouted above Dawn's screaming.

Clem had had just about enough. His ears were hurting and the girls were giving him a headache. He put the lemonade pitcher and two full glasses on a slab of marble, and walked over to them. "Lemonade?" 

That got their attention. They stopped yelling and looked at him strangely. "Look, I don't wanna get into the middle of a family squabble or anything like that, but I have a lot of cleaning to do, and you're both giving me a headache."

"Sorry," Dawn said hesitantly, taking one of the glasses off the makeshift tray. Buffy waved at the other one, passing it up.

Clem set the marble slab down on the table next to the love seat and started to clean, hoping that the girls would now settle down - or at least stop the screaming.

"Dawn. Why exactly did you come here?" Buffy asked demandingly.

"I wanted to talk to Spike again"

Buffy's eyes widened, "Again? What do you mean again?"

Dawn shifted on her feet nervously and tried to move the focus away from her and onto her sister. "Why are you here? You said you wouldn't stop by when I asked."

"So you just thought that since I wouldn't come here that you would?" Buffy challenged.

"Buffy, Spike is my friend. He protected me while you were" she glanced nervously over at Clem and then back at Buffy, "away."

"Uhm," Clem said raising his hand, "I know she was dead so you don't have to pretend she was out of town or anything."

"Does every demon know I was dead?" Buffy asked incredulously.

Clem shrugged, "Pretty much. Yeah." 

Buffy rolled her eyes and looked over at her sister who was getting impatient with the exchange.

"Look Buffy, I know he hurt you but he didn't mean to. He was hurt too. And he still loves you."

Buffy had heard enough from Dawn. "We're leaving now. You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Why is that? Because I'm a kid?"

"No! Because he tried to rape me! That's why!" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. All eyes were on her now. She just wanted to crawl into a hole.

* * *

Willow turned out the lights, locked the door and headed upstairs. Her [She] and Tara were getting ready to go to bed when they heard a knocking at the door. "Stay here," Willow said to Tara as she made her way back down the steps, "I'll see who it is."

Willow looked out the door and saw Xander standing there. She quickly undid the locks and opened the door. "Xander, what are you doing here? I thought you and Anya would be making with the smoochies by now."

Xander slowly made his way into the Summers' home. He looked like he'd been through hell and back. "Sorry to wake you guys up. But I needed to talk to someone."

"I'll make some hot chocolate," Tara said from the bottom of the stairs. Neither one of them had heard her come down.

"Xander? What's wrong? Is Anya okay? What happened?" Willow maneuvered him into the living room; she sat him down on the couch and then moved to her own seat on the other side of the coffee table. 

He seemed to be in shock. He just sat there and didn't say anything. After a few minutes, Tara came into the room with a tray of steaming coffee mugs. "You looked like you could use some chocolate," she said, setting the tray down next to Willow and giving Xander a little smile. Willow glanced at her lover with worry in her eyes.

Looking over at Willow, he asked in a whisper, "Buffy? Dawn?"

"Buffy's on patrol yet and Dawn is upstairs sleeping." Willow said putting her hand on his, "We can wait until Buffy gets back to talk about this if you want?"

Xander sighed, slumped back against the couch and stared at the ceiling. Tara and Willow looked at each other questioningly. Finally, Xander spoke. "It won't change anything if we wait for Buffy. The result is still the same. Anya is a vengeance demon again."

"What?" both girls said with shock.

"Ya know? Vengeance Demon? Men bad. Hate men. Men hurt women. Do bad things to men."

"Xander are you sure," asked Tara.

"Positive. Her little demon friend Halfrek spilled the beans and Anya didn't deny it. In fact, she confirmed it but said we could still work things out."

Tara sat down next to Xander and put her arm around his shoulders. "I'm so sorry Xander. I know how much you wanted to work things out with her. Maybe there's still some hope"

"No. No hope. It's over. She's a demon now. How could I possibly love someone who does bad things to people?" He was getting angry now.

"Has she done any vengeance spells yet?" Tara asked still looking at him.

"Dunno. I just found out the whole secret identity thing just a few minutes ago. Dunno if she's been all vengeancy yet or not. I don't even know how long she's been a demon again."

Neither of them had noticed the look on Willow's face. She hadn't said a thing since he had first said the words, "Anya is a demon again." She now played them over in her mind. Suddenly she said, "I have to go."

Xander and Tara stopped their conversation and looked over at her. Tara asked her first, "What do you mean you have to go?"

Willow just stood and stared at them. Xander cocked his head to the side and asked, "Will? Are you okay?"

"Uh. Yeah. I'm fine. I just need to go get some marshmallows," she said with a smile and trying to sound convincing, "Can't have hot chocolaty goodness without marshmallows!"

Tara's eyes narrowed. Something was off about Willow again. Had she had another vision and just didn't want to share it yet? Tara decided not to push. "Sweetie, why don't you stay with Xander" But Willow was already out the front door and into the night. "and I'll go get the marshmallows." Shrugging, Tara gave Xander a puzzled look.

* * *

Dawn returned to the love seat with the glass of lemonade for Buffy. She tried to wrap her mind around what Buffy had blurted out about Spike. It just didn't seem like something Spike would do. He would never intentionally hurt her sister. He loved Buffy. Of that part, Dawn was sure. She tried to make sense of it all as she handed the glass to her shaken sister. "Buffy are you sure Spike was purposely trying to hurt you? Cause wouldn't the chip have zapped him and given him a headache?"

Oh god, Buffy thought. How was she supposed to talk about something like this with her little sister? "Dawn, he was trying to force himself on me. He might have if I hadn't stopped him. Plus, something happened when I came back fromwhere ever I was. Spike could hurt me. And only me."

Dawn looked at her sister wide-eyed. Obviously, Buffy was upset about this and had every right to be if what she was saying was true. Still, something still didn't feel right. "Why didn't you stop him right away? You could have stopped him right away, right? Did he vamp out and become all mean vampire on you?"

"My back hurt from being knocked into a headstone after I staked a vampire, and I was tired" Did that sound as lame to them as it did to her? "and no, he didn't go all Mr. Bumpy on me."

"Well that's a good thing, right?" Dawn asked, almost pleaded. She really didn't want to think of Spike as something evil. After a second she continued, "Buffy, I've seen you fight off demons after being kicked around by Glory. So don't even tell me you were too weak to kick him off. Why didn't you stop him when he first started?"

Dawn was right, she had managed to fight Glory, and she had been a Hell God. Why hadn't she stopped him? There was that question again: why? Why couldn't she find the answer?

"Do you love him?"

Buffy looked at her sister like she had turned into an alien, "Are you serious?"

"It's a simple question, really." It was Clem now. Great, now he was involved in all of this!

Buffy stood to face Dawn and Clem and shouted, "No! Are you people crazy!? Here I thought I was the one with the mental problems!"

"Buffy what would be so wrong if you did love him?" Dawn asked as she folded her arms against her chest.

"What would be so wrong if I did? You're joking, right? Dawn, Spike has killed hundreds of people, maybe thousands and you ask what would be so wrong if I loved him?" She was shaking her head and practically in tears again, "He tried to rape me Dawn. He hurt me. He's not even human!"

"Buffy," Dawn said looking at her sister, "Spike said to me once that it didn't matter how you started out, it's where you are now that counts. Spike hasn't hurt a human since the chip. And I bet he still wouldn't hurt anyone if the chip didn't work."

"Dawn, I seriously hope we never have to find that out," she took a sip of her drink. Her throat had gone dry and she felt like her tongue was going to stick to the roof of her mouth. The next sentence came out in almost a whisper, "but the fact still remains that he hurt me." 

Clem stood there looking at the Slayer. He understood why his friend was in love with her. What human or former human wouldn't be? She was beautiful, even if she did have tight skin, ick; and she was stubborn as Hell. He also understood that Spike had hurt her but how many times had she hurt him? How many times had Spike come to play cards looking like he'd been hit by a truck? His friend wasn't here now to defend himself and the young girl that Spike cared for like a daughter was only getting one side of things. Someone had to stand up for Spike. "Slayer," Clem started hesitantly, hoping not to incur her wrath, "I don't know what was going through Spike's head when hehurt you, but have you stopped to think of all the times you've hurt him? Like the way you used him as a punching bag whenever you felt the need to hit something?"   
That got her attention. She was staring at him now. Dawn was too. Good.

"Buffy, you beat up Spike for the fun of it?" Dawn demanded as she stood face to face with her sister.

"Well," Buffy stammered, "a couple of times. Maybe once, or twice. He deserved it! For just being, wellSpike." 

Clem's head was starting to hurt again. Why had he gotten into the middle of this? Too late now, he had to continue, "It was a lot of times and you know it. What about when he tried to stop you from turning yourself into the police for that murder? You beat him to a bloody pulp!" 

Dawn glared at Buffy now. "You were the one that did that to him? He told me he got that way from fighting a demon when you guys were out on patrol. God Buffy, what did he do to you to deserve that?"

Anger was building in Buffy's voice as she said, "How did this become about me? Spike is the one that tried to rape me."

Looking at his watch and then looking around the crypt, Clem decided that it was time to wrap up this little therapy session, "I'm not trying to make this about you. This is about the two of you, and the pain you brought to each other. Don't you get that?" That said, he turned his back and started sweeping up the pieces of broken glass.

* * *

Willow looked in the window of the Magic Box to make sure Anya was there. She was, talking to a now human looking Halfrek. Willow wasn't sure what she was going to say to Anya, but she had to know. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the busted door.

Anya looked at her friend and then at the door. "Maybe it's Xander!" She rushed to the door and opened it. "Oh. It's just you." She turned and walked back to the counter.

"Nice to see you too Anya," Willow said. "Hello Halfrek."

Halfrek nodded back. "Anyanka, I'm going. Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine Hali," Anya said without much conviction, "Thanks for being here."

Willow turned to say goodbye to the demon but she had already disappeared.

"What do you want Willow because I'm really not in the mood for any kind of lecture or anything. Least of all from you."

Noticing Anya's tear streaked face, everything she had practiced saying on the way over was forgotten. She put her arm around Anya and asked, "When did things get so messed up?" Anya started to say something but Willow waved her off. "Rhetorical type question, Anya. No answer needed."

"Oh."

Silence fell on the shop. Willow wondered how she was going to ask what needed to be asked. Did she really want to know the answer? She had to know. Slowly she moved to face Anya who looked like she had lost her world. This certainly didn't look like a vengeance demon. Weren't they supposed to be all veiny and menacing? "Anya," she asked, trying to get her friend's attention.

The once demon, then human, now demon again, but still friend looked at Willow. Tears welled up in here eyes. "Yes, it's true. Xander told you, didn't he?"

Willow nodded. "Anya. I was wondering. Did you? I mean. Have you?" This was harder than she thought it would be, "Uhm. Have you granted any wishes since beingagain, specificallymine?"  



	6. Power

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning: **These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon all episodes up to and including the season 6 finale.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Warren's visit to Rack gave him much more than just a new playmate; it gave him power, ultimate power.  
**Timeframe:** Two weeks after "Questions"._

- 5 -  
Power 

Warren stretched and yawned. The girl next to him whimpered a little and rolled over. He got out of bed, trying not to disturb her sleep, and made his way to the kitchen to make them some breakfast. Today was the day; he could feel it. For the past two weeks, he had felt the power coursing through him, making him stronger, making him powerful. It was all he could do to keep himself from finding Buffy and using that power against her; torturing her. The girl in the bedroom had kept him in control. Finding her was the best thing that ever happened to him. Wait. That would be second best thing. Or maybe it was even third. He couldn't decide because the first best thing hadn't happened yet. But it was going to. Very soon.

He busied himself around the kitchen. The coffee pot was gurgling and the toaster was toasting. He wasn't much of a chef, but eggs, coffee and toast he could do. He smiled to himself as he buttered the toast and thought, "There's nothing in the world that can ruin this day." He looked up from the toast to grab a couple of plates and she was standing there. Her hair was tousled but she looked amazing. "Good morning, beautiful," Warren said with a grin.

"What time is it?" she asked trying to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"Time for the Slayer and her friends to die," he said nonchalantly.

"Warren," she said with a sigh, "We've been through this. We can't rush things and we don't want to play our hand before we have to." She looked at him and she could tell that he was getting angry with her again. His eyes were turning red and the toast in his hands had gone up in flames. She quickly grabbed a towel and put the fire out, checking to make sure that he wasn't burning too. His powers were still growing.

"I thought you wanted this as much as I did?" he growled at her.

"I-I do," she stammered, "but we have to do it right. I don't want anything to go wrong because if it does, if she finds out before we can do anything, it could get bad for us. Really, really bad." 

He leaned his back on the counter, folded his arms across his chest and stared at her. She looked down at her feet and pulled her robe tighter around herself. She felt like he was looking right into her. Most of the time that was exhilarating but then other times, like the one right now, it was disturbing. Sensing her thoughts, he walked over to her and pulled her into an embrace. She could feel him relax in her arms. "I'm sorry," he started, "I just want to kill the bitch. Now."

"I know you do. So do I, but we have to go over the plan first. So," she said trying to placate him, "why don't we do that now and see what we can do about making her dead sooner?"

Warren pulled back and looked at her. Grinning from ear to ear he said, "That's more like it."

* * *

Some time later that day, Willow sat deep in thought while waiting for Tara at the student lounge on campus. Despite how wonderful the last three weeks with Tara had been, she was starting to feel guilty about the wish. She also felt guilty about keeping it from her friends. Everyday she felt like she was living a lie. The things she had done before making the wish haunted her memory. She remembered everything. Including how she had killed Warren and tried to hurt her friends. Even worse was that she had done it without any kind of remorse. She shivered a little. Her thoughts then turned to the conversation she'd had with Anya almost two weeks ago at the Magic Box:

"Yes, Willow. I granted your wish. That's what I do. It's my job," Anya had said.

"But, that means that all of this," Willow said gesturing around the store, "isn't real. It's all a lie."

"No. It's all real. Just on a different plane of reality. There are many alternate universes, each one just as real as the next. Either way though, Xander hates me." She had said this with such sadness, that Willow couldn't even look her in the eye.

"I'm sorry Anya. I guess I've messed things up for everyone, even before the wish. I guess I can't wish it back, huh?"

"No. All sales are final," she had said, trying to make a joke of it.

"Oh! I know! We could destroy your center of power! That would take us back and make you human again! Just like before!"

"Willow. Think about what you're saying."

"What?" Slowly the gravity of the situation hit her and she deflated, "Oh. Right"

"Willow, you made a wish and a good one too. Don't second guess yourself."

Suddenly the sound of glass breaking snapped her out of her thoughts and back to the present. Someone had dropped their Snapple bottle next to her and the crash it made had startled her. She looked around the lounge and checked her watch. "Tara should be here soon," she thought. The student who had dropped the Snapple was cleaning it up now. Willow, sat back in her chair and tried to relax by watching the clean up show but her feeling of guilt wouldn't stop nagging her. She closed her eyes and sighed. "You've gotta snap out of this," she said to herself, "Which world do you want to live in? One where Tara's dead and you went all black magic Willowy or one where you have a second chance to make things right?"

"Willow?" a familiar voice asked from in front of her.

Slowly Willow opened her eyes. Standing in front of her was Amy.

* * *

Warren stood across the street from Buffy's house, hiding in the afternoon shadows. Buffy's little sister had just gone inside. That meant the only one still missing from the equation was Xander. Warren checked his watch again. Xander's shift was over half an hour ago. He should be there by now.

A few moments later, a car pulled into the driveway. Good. It was Xander. Finally.

Warren's pocket began to vibrate. He took out his cell phone. "Yeah?"

"I've got them," the voice on the other end said.

"Good," he said smiling wickedly.

He pushed the end button on his cell and started to cross the street.

* * *

Xander let himself in. Buffy and Dawn were waiting for him in the living room. Dawn was watching TV and absently twirling a strand of hair around her finger while Buffy sat in the chair with a look of consternation on her face. Dawn greeted him with a small smile and went back to her show. Buffy just sat there, looking lost in thought. Something was up. She had called at the site earlier, and asked if he could come by for a Scooby meeting as soon as he could. He had told her he couldn't get to her place until after his shift was over. She had sounded fine with that. Now, being here in front of her, he could tell that something was bothering her. 

"Hey," she said distracted with her thoughts, "thanks for coming. Willow and Tara should be here soon."

"Buff," Xander said after taking a seat on the couch, "I know something is bothering you. Is your spidey sense tingling?"

She'd had this feeling of dread all day. At first she had thought that it was just her not wanting to go to work, but the feeling had stayed with her all day, intensifying. Something was definitely off. "I don't know what's wrongjust something inside of me saying to be alert." 

"Danger Will Robinson, Danger," joked Xander. Buffy hadn't even smiled at that one and Dawn wasn't paying attention. "Okay. Me shut up now."

"Dawn," Buffy said looking at her sister, "I want you to get your stuff. I'm going to drop you off at Clem's."

"Don't you mean Spike's?" Dawn stated emphatically, enough so that even Xander winced.

Buffy sighed. She didn't want to fight with Dawn again. That's all they seemed to do since that day in the crypt where she had blurted out her secret. They fought about everything again. It was like taking two giant steps back in their relationship. Yes, Dawn had been understanding and supportive about Buffy's pain, but she also held her responsible for the 'Spike beatings', and for him leaving town. 

"Dawn," Xander said harshly, putting his arm around the young girl, "I know you like Spike, but Spike has done somepretty awful things. Especially, to your sisterThat whole bad Vampire thing he has going on..." 

"Spike is not bad!" Dawn shouted, as she leapt off the couch. Before Xander could say any more, she blurted out, "I know what he did to Buffy!" 

Xander's eyes widened and he looked sharply over at Buffy. She nodded to him and turned her head. He looked back over at Dawn who was standing there daring him with her body language, to say anything more about Spike.

Before things could get out of hand, there was a knock at the door.

* * *

Warren had just crossed the street and was making his way to the Summers' home when he saw a familiar face hurriedly walk up the sidewalk to the house. He slipped behind a tree to watch. A look of rage crossed his face. She wasn't supposed to be here. Not now. She wasn't part of the plan! "Calm down," he said to himself, "you might be able to work this to your advantage."

He fished his cell phone out of his pocket again. After punching in the right numbers, he pressed send and waited for his accomplice to answer. "Come on. Come on," he shouted into the phone, "Pick up!!!"

"Hello?"

"It's me. We've got another one for dinner. Set another place at the table."

He snapped his cell shut. His eyes followed the girl as she knocked on the door. Yeah, he was sure he could modify his original plans. No problem.

* * *

"Anya? What are you doing here?" Dawn asked as she opened the door.

"Is Buffy here?" Anya was nervous about talking to Buffy, and it showed. She was biting the side of her lip and looking extremely anxious. The fact that Xander's car was in the driveway wasn't helping, but this was something she needed to do. She had to. 

Dawn glanced over at Buffy who was standing now. Buffy nodded at Dawn to let the demon in. "Uhm. Yeah. She's in the living room."

Anya walked into the living room and felt Xander's eyes on her. "Be strong," she kept telling herself, "You're here to warn them. All of them."

Xander sat on the couch staring at Anya with disgust. Buffy folded her arms across her chest and waited for an explanation.

"Buffy, I know you'd rather I wasn't here, but I had to cometo warn you." 

"Warn me about what?"

Xander spoke before Anya could say another word. "Tact, Anya. Remember we used to talk about that and how you had none of it," he said hurtfully.

Anya looked down at her feet still biting the side of her lip.

"Xander," Buffy said admonishingly, "let her speak."

She was grateful that Buffy had told him to stop. This was hard enough as it was. "Buffy. I'm sorry. I know what I did with Spike was wrong. But that's not why I'm here."

"Why are you here An? To throw it in my face some more that we can't be together? To show off your demonly ways? What?" Xander demanded.

"Xander, I'm not here to talk to you. You've made it perfectly clear that we have nothing to talk about." Looking at Buffy, she continued, "Something bad is about to happen. I can feel it."

"I can feel it too," Buffy almost whispered.

"It's very strong and very powerful; and it's directed at you and at everyone you love." Anya's eyes glanced at Xander making sure he knew that she was including him in this warning. "It's against the rules, me coming here, but I couldn't just do nothing and see you all hurt. I couldn't stand it if" 

As Xander started to say something, there was an explosion, knocking them all to the ground. The door flew off its hinges and the front of the house disappeared in an avalanche of wood and cement. The four of them scrambled to get up, wondering what had just happened. A figure in the front yard caught their attention.

"Whoops. I guess I don't know my own strength," Warren said laughing.

Buffy flew at him hoping to catch him off guard. He raised his hand up and she found herself unable to move. She was frozen; powerless. 

Horror crept over the other Scoobies as they realized they were powerless against him as well. Warren turned to look at them. He mumbled something to himself and clapped his hands together.

Everyone disappeared.

  



	7. Revenge

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon all episodes up to and including the season 6 finale.  
**Update List: **http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Warren and his accomplice begin their revenge on the Scoobies unaware that help is on it's way from an unlikely, powerful source  
**Timeframe:** A few hours after "Power". _

- 6 -  
Revenge

Buffy rolled over on her back and flinched at the pain that shot through her body. She slowly became aware of her surroundings. It was dark and damp. She pulled herself up into a sitting position trying to remember what had brought her to this place. Her eyes adjusted to the dark. She noticed that she was in a small cell that was set into a, what? A cave? That would explain the darkness and the dampness.

"Hello? Anyone there," a voice that Buffy recognized as Willow's asked from somewhere to the left of her.

"Will? Is that you?" It was Xander now. His voice seemed to come from in front of Buffy.

"Yeah it's me Xander! Who else is here," she asked desperately.

"Me," Dawn stated sounding scared, "and I'm stuck in a cage!"

"I'm here too, same situation," said Anya.

"M-m-me too," Tara said stuttering.

"I'm here too. Wherever here is." Buffy said, her voice rising with anger. The last thing she remembered was Warren freezing her.

Before any of them could say another word, they heard approaching footsteps and saw a faint light bouncing off the walls. Someone was coming and Buffy was going to be ready for whoever it was.

The light came closer but Buffy still couldn't make out who the person was that was carrying the torch. There was enough light in the cave now though, that she could see where her friends were. They seemed to be in a semi-circle of individual cells with Buffy's and Dawn's in the middle of the group. Each cell was set into the walls of the cave, almost like a zoo exhibit. She squinted in the dim light and tried to survey the area and to make sure that everyone was in one piece. Everyone looked okay. 

Buffy stood as the figure came into full view. "I am so going to kick your ass Warren. Cause if you thought you could get away with this" but she stopped in mid threat. She had expected the person with the torch to be Warren. She wasn't prepared to see her. Buffy, taken aback for a second, regained her composure and lunged at the girl.

* * *

"Anyanka? Are you here? We have to talk," Halfrek said as she looked around the Magic Shop. It was empty and dark. No one was there. "Anya," she called out again figuring she would use her friend's human name. Again she was answered with silence.

She walked over to the wall and flipped on the light switch. The lights flickered and came on. The shop was neat as a pin, nothing out of place. She walked over to the table and took a seat. She figured she might as well sit and wait for the rogue demon to return. They really needed to talk. D'Hoffryn had gotten wind of Anyanka's decision to tell Buffy about the vengeance directed at her. That was strictly against the rules and Anyanka knew it. To say that their boss was pissed off was an understatement. Halfrek had pleaded with him to let her go to Anyanka and talk to her. Reason with her. Make her understand that her place was back with them now. So she waited, flipping lazily through a magazine that had been left on the table.

* * *

Buffy flew against the back of her prison and cried out in pain. She looked down at her hands, which were burned. She glared at the girl who was now standing in front of her cell. "You bitch."

"I would advise you not to touch the bars. They're electrified. You'll heal fine but the others, well, let's just say it wouldn't be too good for them." She walked around the cave and lit the other torches. The room filled with light.

"Amy," Willow said trying to get her attention, "Why are you doing this?"

"Why? Because, I can. Because, it'll be fun. Remember fun," she asked looking at Willow, "No, of course you don't. You're still that same scared girl that you were in high school. And you don't have to be! You're a powerful witch Willow, yet you won't use your powers. We could have been a force to be reckoned with, you know. Instead you've chosen to be little miss goody."

"I'm not the same person I was in high school," Willow said calmly, "I've changed. I've grown up. I know first hand how power can corrupt a person."

"It doesn't have to be this way, Willow. You could join us and"

Willow cut her off, "And do what, Amy? Kill people? Kill my friends? Rule the world?"

Tara had been sitting quietly in her cell watching the exchange. Willow was different lately. She was still Willow but she was moremelancholy? She thought maybe that was because Willow wasn't using her powers and she really wanted to but didn't want to risk losing Tara again. Now Tara was getting the feeling that Willow wasn't using them anymore for a completely different reason.

"Amy, why are you doing this to us? What did we ever do to you," Dawn demanded.

Amy looked at Dawn and smiled. Then she looked at the others one by one. Finally, she walked over to face Buffy and said, "I'm doing this because I'm tired of Buffy's attitude. I'm tired of being looked at as something evil because I like to use my powers." She stopped and looked over at Willow, rage building in her voice, "And because you could have de-ratted me long before you did. It took that other witch leaving you for you to want me around again, so that you had someone to say it was okay that you did magic."

No one spoke.

"Oh. In case you're thinking that's just not enough, I'm also doing it because I have this amazing guy now that really cares about me. He doesn't have any hang-ups with who I am. And, oh yeah, he hates Buffy and pretty much all of you. So I think that's a good enough reason for me."

* * *

Halfrek had lost track of the time while she paged through the magazine. She'd wait there all night for Anyanka if she had to. As she turned the next page to continue the story she was reading, a man materialized in the shop. He walked quickly to the counter to check the answering machine. She jumped out of her chair, knocking it to the floor with a loud crash.

He whirled around to look at her, pointing a crossbow at her chest. "And you are?"

"I'mHalfrek. I'm a friend of Anyanaka's," she said stumbling over the words, "You can call me Hali." Then she added, "I'm waiting for Anyanka to come back so we can talk."

The man relaxed and put the crossbow down at his side. "Right. I take it then that no one is here?"

Halfrek shook her head, still staring at him.

"Bloody hell," he said and picked up the phone.

Halfrek wasn't sure who he was or why he was there but he seemed agitated and desperate in his attempt to reach whomever on the phone.

He slammed down the phone and looked over at Halfrek. "Have you seen Buffy or Xander or anyone from the group?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm sorry. No one is here. I'm not exactly friends with them and Xander isn't exactly someone I'd want to hang out with."

"Right. I guess not. Anya e-mailed me and told me what happened," he said removing his glasses to clean them. "I know this is a long shot but do you have any idea where they might have gone? I'm rather concerned. I can't seem to reach anyone."

Again Halfrek shook her head. She was starting to become concerned for her friend. She closed her eyes and tried to feel for Anyanka's pain but couldn't find it. "I can't sense her anywhere. But" Wait. There was something stronger. Ah yes. The vengeance aimed at Buffy. Not her problem.

"But what," the man asked.

"Oh. Nothing," she said with a light tone to her voice hoping that he didn't catch the lie, "I thought it was something but it wasn't." She smiled at him.

The man eyed her suspiciously but as he was about to say something the phone rang. He rushed to answer it. "Hello? Buffy? Oh. Hello Angel. No. No one is here. I can't find them. Yes I did get here rather fast. How? UhmI took the concord," he said lying, hoping that Angel didn't catch it, "Are you quite certain Cordelia's vision was correct? Yes? All right then. Yes, I will call as soon as I find out anything.

He hung up the phone and looked over at Halfrek. "Buffy is in dreadful danger and I'm afraid that the others are as well."

She was really concerned for Anyanka now. But first she needed to know who this man was. "I'm sorry," Halfrek said looking at him intently, "I didn't catch your name."

"That's because I didn't give it. I'm Giles. Rupert Giles."

Halfrek knew this name. Anyanka had mentioned him several times, referring to him as the father she never had.

"I'm going to ask one last time," he said coming closer to her and raising his crossbow again. "Do you have any information that may be helpful to finding them?"

* * *

They were all still sparring with Amy and didn't notice that Warren had entered the cave. He walked over to Amy and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She smiled brightly and kissed him long and hard. "Is everyone comfortable?" He asked with a grin after breaking off the kiss.

Xander glared at his captors. "Define comfortable."

"Harris," Warren began sounding bored, "you would think that after my fist met with your face causing messy results, that you wouldn't be so quick to challenge me." He walked over to Xander's cell and looked at him with an evil smile. His eyes flashed red.

"Warren," Buffy said with contempt in her voice, "this fight is between you and me. Let the others go."

"No can do slayer," he said with a laugh, "I can't have them running around town trying to destroy me once you're gone. Although, it would take a lot to bring me down now."

Buffy moved to the front of her cell, carefully avoiding the bars. "You're such an idiot Warren if you think you're some kind of all powerful being. Everyone has a flaw. Even you." 

"That might be true. But I'm not going to worry about it right now because now, we're gonna have some fun!"  



	8. Surprise

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon all episodes up to and including the season 6 finale.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Warren's lack of information and his arrogance lead to surprising results  
**Timeframe:** Immediately following "Revenge"._

- 7 -  
Surprise

Halfrek glared at Giles menacingly. "I suggest you lower your weapon. I wouldn't want to hurt you."

"And I suggest you give me the answers that I'm looking for and I won't have to hurt you."

The silence hung in the air. Each stood their ground staring at the other. It seemed like hours had passed since either one had spoken but in reality, it was just a few seconds. 

"I don't have the time nor the patience for this waiting game," Giles said tiredly, "There are people out there that need my help, and I have this sinking suspicion that you know something that you're not revealing to me." He took a step closer to the demon.

She sighed, "Fine, you're right! I do know something, but it would be against the rules to tell you. Anyanka has broken the rules. She is probably suffering the consequences of her actions."

"You mean to tell me," Giles scowled, "that you're willing to let your friend die? What kind of friend are you?"

Halfrek looked at him and then looked at the floor. She shifted nervously on her feet. Anyanka was her friend but if she told this mortal what he needed to know, she herself would pay the price for breaking the rules.

"Damnit woman! Answer me," he shouted, bringing the crossbow to her chest.

"If you kill me you will never know where they are, and I certainly don't think you want that to be the case," she said putting her hand on the crossbow and moving it away from her person. If he was right, and Anyanka was in trouble, she wasn't sure she could live the rest of eternity knowing that she could have prevented the death of a friend.

With a sigh she said, "Fine. I'll help you."

A look of relief spread over Giles face. He threw his weapon down on the table and folded his arms across his chest, "Thank you. Now. Tell me what you know."

* * *

Warren and Amy had disappeared from the cave about ten minutes ago and hadn't returned yet. Buffy wasn't sure where they had gone or why but it couldn't be good. They were toying with them. Since the duo had left them alone she figured she would use the time to explore her cell more thoroughly, looking for any hint of a way out. There wasn't any. Frustrated, she kicked at the back of her cell hoping to find a weak spot in the wall but her foot just glanced off the rock. "Definitely slayer-proof," she said aloud and sighed.

Xander paced in his cell. "What's the plan? I mean, we're not going to just let them kill us, right?"

"We'll think of something," Buffy said quietly. Her mind was racing through all of their options. They didn't have any weapons, but they did have two powerful witches and a vengeance demon, not to mention that she was Slayer. That had to count for something.

Dawn stood up in her cell, "Tara, Willow, you can do a spell, right? Maybe get us out of these cells?" She was scared. She wished that Spike was still in town. He would have helped them. The thought of him being gone for good was too overwhelming and she tried to push it to the back of her mind so that she could concentrate on the now.

"What about a teleportation spell, Will," Buffy asked hurriedly.

Willow looked at her friends and then looked over at Tara. "I can't do any spells," she stammered, "I don't trust myself. I'm sorry. Maybe Tara could do a spell to unlock the doors."

Tara looked at her lover. She could see the fear in Willow's eyes. "Willow," she said soothingly, "you don't need to worry about me leaving you. This is a different situation. You'd be using your magic for a good reason. I'm not as powerful as you are. I don't think I can do much to help us."

"I just can't," Willow gulped trying to hold back the tears, "I can't."

The pleading in Willow's voice was hard to miss. Tara could feel how afraid Willow was about using magic. Something definitely wasn't right. She had given Willow her blessing to use her powers but her lover had flatly refused. Now she knew that there was something else holding Willow back. Something big.

"Okay, Buffy said taking charge, "We need to think of something else. Fast. We're not going to bully Willow into doing something she can't." She gave her friend a small smile to reassure her that it was okay that she was standing firm in her convictions not to use magic.

"Anya," Buffy continued, "what kind of powers do you have now?"

Xander's head snapped up and he stopped pacing his cell. He glared at his former fiancé. "Yes, Anya; why don't you tell us all what you can do..." 

* * *

Warren pulled his shirt on and buttoned it. He and Amy had gone off to another part of the cave to let the others stew for a while, and to relieve the tension that was building in his body. The thought of killing the slayer and her friends had excited him. So much so, that he was afraid that he would kill them all too quickly. He wanted it to last and he wanted the slayer to suffer. The power that was coursing through his veins had put him on edge. He had felt like a tightly wound clock that was about to explode. Thankfully, Amy had calmed him down and he began to refocus. "A guy could get used to job perks like this," he thought to himself with a wicked grin.

He wasn't worried about leaving the Scooby gang alone. He had separated the witches so that they couldn't grab hands, plus, he had electrified the cell bars. Even Buffy wouldn't be able to deal with that. He had been concerned about Willow since she was pretty powerful but Amy had convinced him that the witch wouldn't use her powers. She had given them up. He didn't understand that, having all that power and not using it. How stupid could she be? And as for the other three humans, they were just that, humans. He had them all right where he wanted them. There was nothing and no one that could stop him now.

* * *

Anya looked defiantly at Xander. She was getting tired of his hurtful comments and glares. "I cannot do anything to Warren or Amy. In fact, I'd have to grant Warren's wish if he asked for one. That's the way it works."

Xander stood facing her and laughed. "You're joking, right? Whose side are you on?"

"It's not that easy," Anya said with a sigh, "the call for vengeance is coming from Warren and directed at all of you. Not the other way around." She knew that Xander wouldn't understand but there was nothing she could say or do to change that. She knew that now. Several seconds later, she realized that there was something she could do to help.

"I'll be right back" Anya shouted and then disappeared.

They looked at her empty cell in shock.

* * *

Anya appeared inside of the Magic Box and went to the weapon cabinet. She didn't notice Giles and Halfrek standing by the front door looking dumbfounded. Her only thoughts were to get as many weapons as she could carry and teleport back to the cave before Warren and Amy knew she was gone. She was so absorbed in her task that she didn't hear Giles come up behind her. A hand fell on her shoulder. She dropped all of the weapons to the floor as she spun around to see who it was.

"Oh my god," she gasped, "Giles? Is it you?"

"Yes. It's me."

She was so relieved to see him that she almost forgot what she was doing. "You're not here to take the store back are you? Because even though I'm a demon again, I don't want to give up the money..."

"Anya, no. I'm not here to reclaim the store. I'm here because Cordelia had a vision that Buffy was in trouble"

"Buffy," she gasped. Suddenly, she bent down and started picking up the weapons. "Hurry! There's no time! I have to get these weapons to Buffy before Warren knows I'm gone. I don't think he knows that I have powers again."

"Anyanka," Halfrek asked in amazement, "are you seriously going to help these humans, again?? Do you have any idea what D'Hoffryn is going to do to you once he finds out? And he will find out you know!"

Anya looked over at Halfrek and then at Giles. A look of determination crossed her face. "I'm going to help my friends," she said emphatically. "And if you're my friend, you'll help me."

One look at Anyanka's face said it all. There was no way Halfrek was going to be able to talk her friend out of this suicide mission. She threw her hands up in the air and grabbed an axe. "Alright," she sighed, "Let's go."

* * *

"She's not coming back, is she," Dawn asked with tears in her eyes.

"She'll be back Dawnie," Willow stated trying to comfort the distraught girl, "She wouldn't leave us here like this. She may be a demon again, but she's still our friend."

"We haven't exactly acted like her friend lately though," Tara said flatly and with downcast eyes.

Xander leaned up against the back wall with his arms folded across his chest. He was tired and his head hurt. Not to mention the fact that he was hungry. Hadn't Willow said something a couple of weeks ago about him always thinking about food? He laughed softly to himself. He didn't want to think about what was going to happen to him and his friends. He didn't want to die this way, like a caged animal. Out of the blue the thought occurred to him, what if Anya had left them to their fate because of the way he had been treating her? What if she really wasn't going to come back? "It's my fault," he said repeatedly.

"Xander don't say such a thing," Willow shouted at him. "It's not your fault that we're here. It's stupid Warren's fault."

"No Will. It's my fault that Anya's not coming back. It's my fault we're going to die."

Buffy had heard about enough. "That's it Xander. Get off the pity party train. We don't have time for this. Anya said she'd be right back and we have to believe that she will be. But until then we have to think positive and figure out a back up plan."

Seconds turned into minutes. Time seemed to stand still. Just as Buffy was about to give up on Anya returning, the vengeance demon appeared in her cell. Surprised, Buffy struck a defensive stance until she realized who it was. "Anya," she murmured, "what took you so long?"

Anya shoved a crossbow into Buffy's hands. "No time. Here," she said in rushed whisper, "take this and hide it. Help is on the way."

Buffy smiled at Anya. She took the weapon and put it in the darkness at the back of the cell. Buffy turned to ask Anya what she had meant by 'help is on the way' but the girl had disappeared from her cell and had re-materialized into Willow's.

Anya teleported into each cell, stopping only long enough to hand the occupant a weapon and a say few reassuring words. Xander's cell was last. When she went to hand him his weapon, he grabbed her arm and looked into her eyes. "An. I'm sorry. I've been a big jerk."

His words hit her like a truck. She couldn't believe he was apologizing to her at last. This was what she had been waiting for since he had walked away on their wedding day. She stared at him, not sure what to say. Finally the words came to her, "Well, we've both said and done hurtful things. I'm sorry I had sex with Spike. I didn't mean to hurt you, not that way." Her eyes filled with tears.

Xander pulled her into an embrace and kissed the top of her head. "Anya," he whispered, "no matter what happens. I want you to know that I still love you."

"I love you too Xander," she said fighting back the tears.

Buffy was glad to see that the two had kind of made up, even if it did take their lives being placed in jeopardy to do it. Her thoughts turned to Spike. Where was he right now? Would she get the chance to tell him she was sorry? Or that she cared for him, maybe even loved him? "God," she thought to herself, "Why am I even thinking about him now?" She chided herself for letting him invade her thoughts. As another Spike thought started to take shape, she heard soft footsteps coming their way. "Uhm. Guys. Later with the smoochies, okay? Anya, get back in your cell. Someone's coming."

* * *

Amy entered the holding area first, followed closely by Warren. He looked around at his prisoners and smiled evilly. This was going to be so much fun. Amy looked over at him and smiled, nodding her head.

He held his hand up and the bars in front of Dawn's cell disappeared. Amy moved quickly to get the girl. As she reached out to grab Dawn's arm, the young girl kicked her in the stomach and sent her flying across the room. Dawn stared at Amy as the girl slid down the wall, unconscious.

Warren glared at Dawn. He ran over to make sure Amy was okay. She was still breathing. He decided that the youngest Summers was going to pay first. "How exciting," Warren exclaimed as he walked in front of Dawn, "do we have a little slayer wannabe on our hands?" He grabbed her before she could reply and pulled her out of the cell, mostly by her hair. "I want you to say your goodbye's to your big sister before I start torturing you. It's gonna get kinda messy and I'm not sure you'll be able to scream, let alone talk."

Dawn struggled to free herself. She could hear Buffy yelling at Warren to let her go. She felt around for the dagger Anya had given her. If she could just get her fingers on that, she could stab him and try to break free. Before she knew what was happening, Warren lurched back with a cry. 

"Surprise," Buffy said leveling the crossbow at him again.

Both he and Dawn fell to the ground. Dawn realized her hands were free and reached for the dagger. She put both hands around it and raised the weapon into the air hoping to get enough momentum to make the wound fatal when she connected. But what she saw froze her.

Warren's eyes began to glow a fiery red. With minimal effort, he pulled the arrow out of his shoulder and threw it to the ground. His wound healed quickly. "You stupid bitch," he laughed at Buffy, "Did you think that would stop me? I'm not one of your undead boyfriends." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Dawn with the dagger. Suddenly it started to glow with tremendous heat. She dropped it immediately, leaving her helpless against him.

"I'm not exactly sure how you got these weapons," he said turning to Buffy, "But no matter. They're useless against me. I'm indestructible now." He walked over to Dawn and grabbed her by the throat. "And now I'm going to kill your sister."

Buffy glared at him. "As I said earlier Warren, everyone has a flaw."

"Oh please. I don't think so. Stop trying to bait me. You're not going to get out of this. Your sister is going to be the first one to die and there's nothing you can do about it."

"She may not be able to do anything about it at the moment, but I can," said a voice from behind.

Warren spun around with a look of surprise on his face. He knew that voice.  



	9. Confrontation

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon all episodes up to and including the season 6 finale.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** The battle between the Scooby gang and Warren heats up with possible deadly results  
**Timeframe:** Immediately following "Surprise". _

- 8 -  
Confrontation

Warren spun around to see who belonged to the voice behind him. Damn! It was that librarian turned shopkeeper. Wasn't he supposed to be in England? How did he find out where they were? No matter. He would take care of things. This was just a small distraction and he could use the shopkeeper to his advantage. He heard a moan coming from Amy's direction. He assumed she was coming to. "Amy, why don't you hold onto Dawn here, while I show Mr. Giles why he shouldn't have come." 

Giles fixed his eyes on Warren and said sharply. "You stupid, impetuous boy. Do you really think that I'm afraid of your threats? I'm not like Amy. I won't cower to you."

"You have no idea what you're getting into old man," Warren threatened, "You're not going to walk away from this. None of you are." He pulled Dawn's hair tighter as she tried to squirm away from him. Amy was taking too damn long to get the kid. Hadn't she woken up yet? He glanced over to where Amy had been laying but she was gone. "What the"

Warren's distraction gave Giles the opening he was looking for. "And you have no idea who you're dealing with," he said charging at Warren. Giles thrust his sword into Warren's stomach, burying it up to the hilt.

Dawn used that moment to kick Warren in the legs. She heard a sickening crunching sound. Had she just crushed the bones in his legs? She was stunned. How in the world could she do these things? What was wrong with her?

"Halfrek," Giles yelled, "Take Dawn and get out of here now!" 

Halfrek, who had been hiding in the shadows, ran towards Dawn. She ushered the girl towards the exit. On their way out, Dawn noticed a still unconscious Amy lying in a heap, tied up. "How did she get that way?" Dawn asked Halfrek as she tried not to stumble through the darkened passageways.

"Don't worry about that right now, sweetie. We just need to get outside because I have a feeling this is going to be very messy."

* * *

"Anya," Giles said with trepidation in his voice, "figure out a way to get the others out of their cages. I'm going to take care of Warren."

"Giles," Buffy shouted, "he's behind you!"

Giles whirled around just in time to take a vicious blow to his arm that was meant for his head. The blow had knocked him off balance, enough so that he tumbled to the ground. "Bloody hell," he thought, "at least I'm not unconscious, as usual."

"You idiots," Warren said while removing the sword from his stomach and standing over Giles, "I've told you how many times now that you can't hurt me?" Raising the sword over Giles he said, "I can hurt you though." He swung it down towards Giles' head. Something stopped him mid-swing.

Buffy stood next to Warren. Her hand was wrapped around his wrist. "I guess we just don't listen," she said as she kicked the sword from Warren's hand.

Giles rolled to his left and stood up quickly. It was going to take all of them to defeat Warren, if he was as strong as he said.

"Slayer," Warren sighed, "I'm not ready to kill you yet. You need to suffer first." He was still in control and he wanted her to know it.

"Bring it on pathetic boy," she stated calmly, striking a defensive pose.

* * *

While Buffy distracted Warren, Giles assisted Anya with the cell doors.

"Do you have a plan Giles?" Tara asked, after he freed her.

Giles nodded. He looked at the small group hoping that it wouldn't be the last time they were all together. Xander was hugging him now. "Xander, please," he begged trying to untangle himself from the over zealous boy, "We have a lot of work to do if we want to get out of this alive."

"I'm sorry," Xander sniffed, "It's just so good to see you!"

"Yes. Right. And I'm happy to see all of you as well but we need to concentrate." He looked over at Willow. She looked away as soon as she met his eyes. She was avoiding his gaze and hadn't said one word to him. "What in the blazes," he thought wondering why she wouldn't look at him. Something was wrong but he didn't have time to figure it out.

* * *

Finally the Slayer had asked for it. Grinning excitedly, Warren went to punch her but she ducked. She used a spin kick to catch him in the gut and then punched him in the face. She hoped her kick had hit the spot where Giles had stabbed him. Would it matter? He stumbled backwards laughing. She didn't like the course this fight was taking. It felt like he was still toying with her.

She lunged at him and sent him flying into the wall.

"Okay," he growled, "this is starting to bore me."

He raised his hand. A blue lightening bolt leapt from it and into Buffy. She was thrown back, landing with a loud thud. It had knocked the wind out of her. She winced in pain as she moved to get back up. "Is this for real," she asked herself. It was like something Darth Vader would do in a Star Wars flick.

"Don't make me do that again. I want to kill you slowly and a few more of those will certainly fry you. Then I wouldn't have any fun."

"The only fun you're going to have, Warren, involves being a butt monkey for some prison inmate."

He howled with laughter. She was insane if she thought a prison would hold someone like him. "Buffy, you silly, silly girl," he hissed at her, "that's not going to happen."

"If you say so," Buffy growled as she rushed at him again. But before she could reach him, she found herself unable to move. It was the same spell that had stopped her earlier. "Damn," she thought, "now what?"

* * *

"Are we all clear on what to do," Giles asked them. Four heads nodded back at him. "Good. Then let's go."

Buffy had just been knocked to the floor when they got their weapons. She was getting ready to charge at Warren again but suddenly she was frozen.

"Now," Giles yelled.

The four of them rushed at Warren hoping to catch him off guard. Before Warren could react, they had him pinned down. Tara looked over at Buffy and said a few words, freeing her. The Slayer ran to help the others.

Giles took off his glasses, looked at Warren and said, "Vincire!" He raised his hand and pointed his index finger at the crazed young man as a green light shot out of him and wrapped around Warren's body.

Buffy and the others pulled themselves off Warren when they realized he was stationary. As they backed up, Warren's body began to rise. They all stared. Finally, Buffy asked what the others were thinking. "Uhm. Giles? How did you do that?"

"Borrowed magic from a coven in Devonshire. They came to me when they felt a dangerous magical source begin to rise here in Sunnydale. A dark force fueled by hate. Then of course," he continued trying to avoid Buffy's gaze, "there was the call from Angel."

"Angel," Buffy asked, eyes widening, "why did he call you?"

Giles reached for his glasses to clean them when he realized he had removed them prior to placing the binding field on Warren. "Buffy, please do calm down."

"What? I'm all calmand stuff," she said defensively.

"Angel called to warn me that Cordelia had a vision that you were in trouble." The look on all of their faces told him that they were not aware of their former friend's capabilities. "Is now a good time to tell them that she's also half demon," he asked himself. No. Best to just get to the point.

"You see," he continued, "she has visions now and could see that you needed help. They tried calling the Magic Box several times to reach you or any one of you but no one answered. After trying your home, they became worried and called me."

"So you just decided to come here all hyped up on magicy goodness," Xander asked.

"Not quite. I guessed that Cordelia's vision and Buffy's disappearance were connected to the dark force that was rising here. So I went to the coven and asked them for assistance with this problem. They discussed it and decided that the best course of action was for me to come here quickly to help defeat it. And the only way to do that was by them giving me their powers. They're just a loan, really."

Suddenly a shockwave went through the air, knocking all six of them across the room and onto their backs. Warren stood up and brushed himself off. When were these idiots going to learn not to mess with him? "You know what? I've been going about this the wrong way. I've decided that the best way to do this is to kill you all quickly. You bore me. And so does your pathetic excuse for powers."

Warren chanted in a language that only Giles recognized. "Not good." Giles said aloud.

"Giles what's he saying," Buffy demanded.

"Oh. Not much. Something about a plague of demons and such."

Buffy just stared at Giles.

* * *

Outside the cave Dawn and Halfrek stood waiting for the battle to end. Dawn was becoming increasingly concerned for her sister and for the safety of the others. She couldn't bear the thought of losing Buffy again, especially with Spike gone. She looked over at the demon that was watching her intently. "Why aren't you helping them?"

Halfrek looked stunned by the girl's words. She looked away.

"You have powers, don't you," Dawn demanded with an angry voice. The demon still wouldn't answer her. "If I had powers there's no way I'd be standing out here while my sister and her friends fought for their lives."

"Don't be foolish," Halfrek shot back, "you don't know what you're talking about. I'm going to be in enough trouble for just being here."

Dawn couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could that woman be so calm while her friend could be dying? Dawn couldn't stand out here any longer. She had to go help, somehow. She slowly began making her way back into the cave. Halfrek had her back to her so now was as good a time as any to sneak back in. A stick cracked under her feet and she froze at the sound.

Halfrek turned around and quickly walked over to Dawn. "Just where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to help them."

"I don't think so," Halfrek said grabbing Dawn by the arm. "My job is to keep you safe and that's what I'm going to do."

Anger was building up inside of Dawn. She thought she was going to burst. She grabbed Halfrek's hand to fling it off but instead she sent her flying through the air. "Oh. My. God." A voice inside her head told her to run back into the cave to help.

Halfrek started picking herself up off the ground. Dawn looked at her and looked at the cave opening. She ran back inside, not sure how she was going to help them but knowing that she had to.

* * *

Buffy and her friends were in the middle of fighting a horde of demons and vampires when Dawn arrived. Her sister had staked about six vampires while Giles battled with a chaos demon. Buffy looked around after staking her seventh to make sure everyone was holding their own. They were. Good. That meant she could go after Warren.

As Buffy started to make her move, she was knocked to the floor. She managed to get the demon off her and kill it by breaking its neck. They just kept coming and she was getting tired. If she was tired, then the others had to be as well. She wasn't sure that they could keep this up much longer. The more demons they killed the more appeared out of nowhere.

Warren just stood and watched with a content smile as the battle raged on. Surely these demons would make short work of the Slayer's friends. He knew that Buffy would be fine. Afterwards, all he would have to do is kill her himself. This was much better than his original plan, much, much better.

On the other side of the room, Xander cried out in pain as a Toth demon threw him against the wall. Buffy couldn't reach him in time. She watched helplessly as the demon gored him. Xander sunk to the floor holding his stomach and looking pale. The blood seeped out from under his fingers and stained his shirt.

"Xander! No," Anya shrieked. Shaking with anger she picked up a sword and charged at the demon, cutting it in two. She dropped the sword and ran over to her former fiancé, heedless of the demons surrounding her. Tears were running down her face. She put his head in her lap and wept. Was he still alive? She couldn't tell. "Please don't die Xander," she whispered to him. She was so busy trying to make sure Xander wasn't dead that she didn't notice the vampire creeping up on her.

"Leave my friends alone," Dawn yelled as she jump kicked the vampire. He landed on his back a few feet away from her. He growled at her as he got up but she hit him and sent him flying again. The vampire came to rest at Buffy's feet. She kneeled over him and rammed the stake through his heart. Nothing but dust.

Buffy looked over at her sister in amazement. Where had she learned to fight like that? Had she been paying attention at the training sessions? Wait! Only a slayer could do something like that! Okay. No time to think. She picked up an extra stake and threw it at Dawn. Dawn grabbed it out of the air with slayer like reflexes. "Definitely gonna have to talk to Giles about this," she mumbled to herself as she flipped a demon over her shoulder.

* * *

"Giles," Anya screamed, "Can't you do anything to stop this with your borrowed magic powers?"

Still fighting with the Chaos demon, Giles glanced over at Anya and said dryly, "I'm a little busy at the moment, Anya. But perhaps you could come over here and fight while I try to save us."

"I can't leave Xander," she cried, "not like this."

Willow didn't know what to do. She needed to help her friends but she didn't want to risk returning to the dark majicks. The situation was growing more dire by the minute. Xander was down and maybe dead. She had to do something and fast. She turned to Tara and grabbed her hand. "Barrier spell," she whispered. The other witch nodded in agreement. Tara lowered her head and said a few words. Suddenly the demons were on one side of the room and they were on the other side. The Chaos demon rushed at them but bounced off the invisible shield harmlessly.

"I-I don't think I can hold this long," Tara stammered.

"Hold it as long as you can Tara," said Willow giving Tara's hand a squeeze. She then turned to Giles, "I have an idea."

  



	10. Crushed

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning: **These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon all episodes up to and including the season 6 finale. Some dialogue borrowed from "Villains," written by Marti Noxon.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Warren's powers have severe consequences for him and the Scoobies  
**Timeframe:** Immediately following "Confrontation"._

- 9 -  
Crushed

Warren was tired of this little show. The demons had only taken out one of the Scoobies. Unfortunately, it wasn't Giles, Buffy or one of the witches. Damn. Now they were behind a magical barrier. "Could this day get any worse," he muttered to himself. He yelled out in frustration. Swearing under his breath, he clapped his hands together and made the remaining demons disappear in a flash. He then turned his attention to the group huddled in the back.

Willow and Giles were in the corner heatedly discussing her plan. "Willow, how on earth do you know that this will work," he asked studying her face.

"Please. You'll have to trust me on this."

Standing defiantly, Tara continued to concentrate on the barrier. She started to become nervous when she heard Warren chanting again. There was no way she was going to let him hurt Willow or her friends. She focused her powers and concentrated harder. In slow motion she saw Warren thrust his hand forward, palm outward. The barrier spell was broken and Tara collapsed to the floor unconscious.

"No!!!!!!!" Willow bellowed, "You're not going to kill her again!" She ran over to her lover and shielded Tara with her body. Willow noticed Tara's chest moving up and down and realized the girl was still breathing. Tara was okay.

Warren began closing the distance between them and himself. There was no way he was going to let them get the upper hand on him. And why had the witch said that she wasn't going to let him kill Tara again? Again? He had never touched a hair on the Wicca's head. But that was about to change.

Giles moved quickly and placed himself between Warren and the group. Giving Warren a fixed stare, he stated calmly, "Don't take another step."

"Or what old man," Warren sneered, "you'll use your binding spell again? Please. You're not stopping me."

"I told you before, I am not afraid of you."

"But you should be," Warren continued, "I'm more powerful than anything you've ever faced. Rack gave me powers you can only dream about and when I killed him, I took his as well."

Willow gasped. In this reality Warren had killed Rack and taken his powers. In the other reality it had been her that had done these things. She knew that Warren possessed powers beyond anything she or Giles had. But if they worked together, they could defeat him, as Giles and Anya had once defeated her.

Willow glanced at Giles and gave him the go-ahead nod. Giles took a step closer to Warren and with one word put him in the binding spell again.

Warren laughed haughtily, "You people will never get it will you? This won't hold me. I've broken it once already and I'm going to do it again."

Giles and Willow closed in on Warren before he could undo Giles' spell. Each placed a hand on Warren's chest and started draining his power. Once Warren realized what was going on, he broke free and knocked them to the ground. He could feel himself weakening. Damn them. "I'll show them once and for all," he thought to himself. 

"You're going to wish you had never done this," he hissed at them.

* * *

Buffy was feeling totally helpless. She wasn't magical so she couldn't participate in the plan. The only thing she could do was watch. And protect her sister, Anya, Xander and Tara. "Xander," she gasped. She had almost forgotten about his injury. Buffy's heart sank when she saw a broken Anya looking down at the pale, lifeless body of Xander. There was a lot of blood on his shirt. She tried to push away the horrible thought that maybe he was dead. He couldn't be. If he was dead, she'd never forgive herself. She should have been protecting him.

The thought of him being dead angered her. Quickly she walked over to them and felt for a pulse on Xander. She tried both wrists and the neck but couldn't feel a single beat. She looked into Anya's already bloodshot eyes, and tried to convey to the demon that the love of her life was gone. Anya either couldn't understand, or didn't want to. "I'm sorry," Buffy croaked holding back her own tears, "I can't find a pulse."

"Noooooooooo," Anya sobbed, "no, he can't be dead. I can still feel him here." Anya continued to sob, rocking back and forth with Xander's head in her lap.

Buffy stood up and went to her sister who was crying in the corner. She put her arms around the girl and hugged her, letting her cry as much as she needed to. As she continued to hold her sister, she heard the exchange between Giles and Warren. She looked over in time to see Warren throw Giles and Willow to the floor.

* * *

"I told you not to mess with me," Warren spat at them, "but you just couldn't listen, could you? Now you have to pay. No more messing around." He held his right arm up, palm out. "Die."

Buffy cringed against the back of the cave shielding Dawn. "This is it," she thought to herself.

But only a spark came out of Warren's hand. He looked at his hand as anger welled up within him. "You may have weakened me, but I'm not done yet."

Seizing the opportunity, Buffy closed the distance between Warren and herself and sent him flying into the wall with a spin kick to his abdomen. The wall began to crumble as he hit it.

"Buffy," Willow yelled, "He's not completely drained yet!"

Not understanding what her friend meant, Buffy turned to Willow to ask what she was talking aboutBefore the words could leave her mouth, Willow ran between her and Warren. Suddenly Willow's body slumped against her. Buffy could feel something hot flowing down her hands. Holding Willow up with one arm she pulled her other hand up and stared at it. It was red and wet. She knew immediately that it was blood, Willow's blood.

Warren stood over them holding a knife and laughing. Both witches were now down and out for the count. After reveling in his accomplishment of neutralizing Willow, he suddenly realized that he still had to deal with Buffy and Giles, before the old man could use his powers against him. He raised his hand again but found that he was even weaker than before. "What's happening to me," he thought panicking.

Giles took advantage of Warren's sudden lack of strength and sent the young man flying back into the wall with just a word. The cave began to moan as Warren hit the wall yet again. More rocks began to break off and fall to the floor. Giles knew that they had to get out of there before the whole place collapsed on them.

* * *

Tara woke up in time to see Warren stab Willow. While Giles threw Warren against the wall, Tara ran to help Buffy with the red headed witch. She could see that Willow was still barely alive. They didn't have much time.

"Tara we have to get everyone out of here before this place caves in on us," Buffy said as she applied pressure to Willow's wound.

Tara was trying to hold back tears. She didn't want to lose Willow, not after she finally had her back again. Things were starting to make sense to her now. She had heard Willow and Giles discussing how to drain Warren of his powers. That's when the realization hit her that the only way for Willow to know how to do something like that, is if Willow had a firm grasp on black majicks. On the one hand, she was crushed that Willow would even study something like this and on the other hand she was glad that Willow had the knowledge. She needed Willow to be okay. Knowing that Warren was weak but not sure if he was completely out of magic, Tara stated, "I can put a protection barrier around us while we get everyone out but I don't know how long I can hold it." 

"Do the best you can while Giles distracts Warren and I get Xander out," Buffy said as she ran over to where Dawn and Anya were standing with Xander's body. Hurriedly she picked up her friend and told the girls to follow her. They ran out of the caves and into the first signs of morning light. Halfrek was still there but she was standing watch over a now conscious Amy, making sure the girl couldn't help Warren.

After sending Dawn for help and making sure that everything was okay outside, Buffy ran back in to get the others out. As she got closer to the fight, more rocks began falling around her, making it harder for her to navigate the narrow passageways. If she didn't get the rest of them out soon, they were going to be killed.

* * *

Inside, Giles had Warren pinned down on the floor; he and Tara were trying to drain the rest of Warren's powers from him as Willow lay moaning on the ground. Buffy yelled to them to get Willow and get out while she took care of Warren.

Warren was up on his feet now and intended to kill Tara and Giles as they made their way to Willow. Buffy stepped in front of him and folded her arms across her chest. "Going somewhere?" She asked with a small smile.

Warren started laughing uncontrollably at her. "Slayer," he said between breaths, "did you honestly think I didn't have a plan for this?"

"Well," Buffy shrugged trying to buy some time for her friends to get out, "I figured that since you were stupid enough to do this that you were stupid enough to forget about a back up plan."

Grinning like a mad man, Warren pulled the knife out and tried to stab Buffy but she was too fast for him. Buffy knocked the knife out of his hand while punching him in the nose. Instinctively, he put his hands up to his face as he cried out in pain. Blood poured from his nose.

"I might be drained of my immortality," he growled, "but I can still kick your ass!"

Calmly she stated, "Let's finish this then." She needed to keep fighting him until Giles and Tara could get Willow out.

While Buffy distracted Warren, Tara and Giles grabbed Willow and picked their way through the rubble and into the passageway. Giles gave Buffy one last, pleading glance before he turned to leave. He was torn between his to duty to his slayer and getting Willow and Tara to safety. He hesitated at the opening as Tara tugged on his arm and gave him a pleading look.

Buffy saw Giles hesitation, "Get out now," she shouted at Giles as she landed a kick to Warren's groin, "I'll be fine. I always am."

Giles nodded. With that, he turned to make his way out of the caves hoping that it wouldn't be the last time he saw Buffy alive.

* * *

Unremitting debris rained down around Buffy and Warren as they continued to fight. His fist met with Buffy's stomach and she dropped to her knees. Despite being drained of his powers, he was still incredibly strong. She got back up on her feet and went after him again. She hoped to tire him out by continuing to match him blow for blow. It didn't seem to be working. He showed no signs of tiring. As she kicked him into the wall one last time, the cave began to shake violently as the ceiling groaned with the weight of the hills above it. 

Warren tried to bolt for the passageway but Buffy blocked him. He was starting to get scared now. He didn't have any powers, not even quick healing, and he didn't want to die. He was doomed if he continued to fight her because the cave was collapsing. "We're both going to die if you don't move out of the way," he growled at her. 

Reluctantly, Buffy realized he was right. They needed to get out of here. She couldn't kill him since he was human so it would be better to let the legal system handle him. She would lead him to safety and then let the police deal with him. "Fine," she said, "Truce. We'll get out together."

As Buffy turned to leave, Warren picked up a large rock and hit her with it. She fell to the ground. Assuming that he had knocked her unconscious, he quickly stepped over her to make his way out. "Stupid bitch," he muttered.

Buffy's eyes flew open. Her arm shot up and she grabbed him around his ankle. She pulled him back into the cave. He fell to the floor with a yelp. Buffy pulled herself up and began to make her way over to him to knock some sense into his thick head. She had barely moved when the ground started to shake. A loud rumbling followed. Both her and Warren looked up as large boulder came crashing down.

* * *

Buffy had barely escaped the falling debris, but Warren hadn't been so lucky. He was crushed beneath the boulder. Buffy looked over at him as the cave continued its collapse around her. He appeared to be unconscious and there was a gash on his forehead that was bleeding profusely.

She wasn't sure what to do. Her first instinct was to leave him in the cave to die. After all, he had tried to kill her and her friends; and he might have succeeded with Xander, maybe even with Willow. The thought of her two best friends lying dead outside was too much for her to bear. She decided that she would let the cave take care of Warren. Despite her nagging guilt at the thought of leaving a human being behind to die a horrible death, she turned to make her way out of the cave before it was too late.

Suddenly, Warren moaned and tried to open his eyes. He tasted blood in his mouth and his head pounded. He didn't remember where he was but when a rock fell close to his head, everything came flooding back. Terror gripped him. He tried to move and found he couldn't. His powers were gone and his super strength wasn't working either. He looked at Buffy as she dodged another falling piece of rock and his eyes widened in fear. "Get me out of here," he cried desperately.

Buffy turned and laughed at him. "Are you kidding me? Do you honestly think that I'm going to help you after everything you did to me? My friends? You probably killed Xander and Willow isn't far behind." She stared daggers at him.

"Look," he continued pleadingly, "I know that I've done terrible things to you. But you're one of the good guys. You wouldn't leave someone helpless behind to die like this." He looked at her face to see if he could read anything in her expression but it was cold as ice. He knew he had to talk fast, try to reason with her. She had a conscience; at least he thought she did. She was the Slayer. It was her duty to save him!

Buffy continued to glare at him. She wanted him to suffer a little longer before she lifted a finger to help him. She estimated that she had a few more minutes before things collapsed entirely upon them. "Give me one good reason why I should save you. Just one."

Warren sputtered. He couldn't believe she was serious. She wasn't moving towards him at all. More debris fell close to him. "Buffy! Come on! I did wrong. I see that now. I need jail. But you, you don't want to do this. You're not a bad person. Not like me."

She shifted on her feet, still trying to decide whether to do something, or just leave. Her anger was getting the better of her. Still not moving an inch, she growled at him, "So now you're admitting you're a bad person? You're only saying these things because your life is in my hands."

"Will you be able to live with yourself if you leave me to die? Is this the kind of example you want to set for your little sister?"

"Leave Dawn out of this! This is between you and me," she screamed.

"How will you explain to her that you left me here to die? If she finds out the truth, you'll lose her too. You don't want that. I know you don't."

Buffy knew he was right. She wouldn't be able to live with the guilt; she certainly wouldn't be able to look Dawn in the face if she left him here. She sighed, and made her way over to Warren. 

Warren almost started to cry out of relief. He knew if he could reason with her, she'd help him. He played her heartstrings by using Dawn and it had worked. "Damn," he thought to himself, "I still have it."

She tried to lift the boulder off of him, but it wouldn't budge. The ground shook again and more debris fell on top of Warren. Buffy couldn't keep up with the amount of falling rock; the more she moved, the more it piled up. The air was becoming thick with dust, and she was finding it hard to breathe.

Debris began to fall at a faster pace. Warren was fighting to stay alert but the pain was unbearable. "Buffy," he groaned, "help me." Things were starting to grow black and he could feel himself slipping into the darkness. Buffy was yelling something at him but it was barely audible. He closed his eyes and let the darkness consume him.

Buffy looked down at Warren as she heard him let out his last breath. She slowly backed away in a daze. She couldn't save him. How many times today had she failed to save those around her? Her thoughts went to her friends. Willow. Xander. She didn't even know if they were still alive.

She cried out in pain as a falling rock hit her shoulder. Snapping out of her reverie, she realized she had stayed too long. The passageway was almost completely blocked and her air supply was diminishing. She pulled a few loose rocks away from the opening and started to make her way out of the cave. As she scrambled into the passageway, the entire cave collapsed behind her.

* * *

She was surrounded by blackness as she tried to find her way out of the maze of tunnels. It seemed like she had been crawling around for hours, feeling her way through the debris. Suddenly, she heard a voice. Someone was calling her name. "I'm here," she croaked, her throat sore and dry. She looked up, saw sunlight, and reached for it. A hand reached down and pulled her through the opening.

Giles ran to her side as she came out of the small opening in the side of the hill. He reached her as she almost fainted from the shock of fresh air and morning sunlight. "Buffy," he asked with a concern tone, "are you alright? I was quite certain" His voice caught in his throat as he tried to finish his sentence.

She smiled at him and stood up. "I'm fine," she said, "except for a few bumps and bruises. No big."

Dawn had been talking to the police and the paramedics so she hadn't seen Buffy finally emerge from what had been their prison. She turned to find Giles to update him on the others' conditions and that was when she saw her sister being helped over to the ambulances. The tears started to come as she ran to Buffy and threw her arms around her sister, hugging her tightly.

Buffy hugged Dawn back. Slowly they turned to look at the sunrise. It was not the most stunning sunrise, but it took on a completely new meaning this morning. Things were going to be better from now on. They had each other. They were stronger. 

**THE END**


End file.
